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Batman: Arkham Asylum, Diagnosing Arkham
Batman: Arkham Asylum, Diagnosing Arkham is the 7th episode of Game Theory on The Game Theorists. Description We're putting Joker, Poison Ivy, and the rest of Arkham's criminals on the Freudian couch to diagnose their mental disorders. But are they really crazy or better off in jail? Find out this week on Game Theory. Transcript Get ready to lay down on the couch and start talking about your mommy issues, ‘cause this week we're looking at the psychology of Batman villains. Hello internet, and welcome to game theory. A full college course in useless information. This week, to honor one of my most anticipated games at E3, Arkham City, we're putting my psychology degree to the test, and looking at its predecessor, Arkham Asylum, to see what makes Batman villains so..baddie. Why are these games placing so much emphasis on a hospital for the insane? Can't Batman just send criminals to, oh I don't know, jail? Are they truly loopy, or does Gotham City not believe in prisons? So all aboard the crazy train ‘cause we're gonna find out. We'll start off with Batman's most interesting nemesis: the Joker. His symptoms include blowing up buildings, killing his own henchmen, and wearing bright purple suits, but we're not the fashion police here. Instead, his biggest symptom is his desire to create chaos. Think about it, does he ever really say why he wants to destroy Gotham? Not really, he just hates the man. This points directly to antisocial personality disorder, or ASPD. It's an illness characterized by rebellion against authority, a trait the Joker has in spades. Those with ASPD also feel no remorse for those they've hurt, check, and have chronic, crazy episodes. Another big check there. Finally, people with antisocial personality disorder, tend to use multiple names. So if the Joker wasn't enough of an alias, looking to the comics he's also known as Red Hood, Joe Kerr, and Clem Rusty, a name he probably stole from the dukes of hazard. Can a mental hospital solve his problems? Assuming he doesn't escape the pitiful security first, probably not. Therapy would only force him to interact with a psychiatrist, an authority figure he would grow to resent. Jail, would be the better choice. But that's only one of the Looney Tunes in this joint. Case in point, Victor Zsasz. A guy who randomly stabs people to death and cuts a tally into his own skin to keep count of his victims. A real man of the year. But is he crazy, or just emo. We need to find the rest of his symptoms, and that means, turning to the comics. In ‘Streets of Gotham’, it's revealed that Zsasz constantly hallucinates, and sees everything in red. On top of this, Batman Chronicles number 3 tells us, he suffers from a gambling addiction, was traumatized by the death of his parents, and even once attempted suicide. Wow, that was a downer of a sentence. Here's a funny picture. Now, I'm no doctor but this cocktail of symptoms sounds a lot like schizophrenia, which is defined by hallucinations, addiction, self-mutilation, and suicidal thoughts. All of which go with Zsasz’s backstory. Arkham; definitely a good place for him. Hold up, this video’s gone on too long without a sexy female, so let's check out Poison Ivy, who is definitely a little off kilter. First, she has phytophilia, which is the love of, an obsession with plant life. However, true phytophiliacs tend to have sex with plants. Now, maybe they cut this out of the comics and games but, it wouldn't surprise me. However, there is no question about her having a disease known as Histrionic Personality Disorder. What does that mean? It occurs most often in women, and involves overly emotional and dramatic behavior designed to attract attention. In other words, diva syndrome. Sexual forwardness is a key symptom and yep, Ivy's got that. What else? Well, dressing provocatively, yes, being overly seductive, I'd say so, rapid mood swings, definitely. And my favorite, thinking relationships are more intimate than they are. Just look at the way she views her relationship with Batman in any comic, game, or movie. Talk therapy is the best treatment for Histrionic Personality Disorder, so her treatment at Arkham, would really take root. And now for this week's mind-blowing revelation. Of all the loonies in Arkham guess who's the sanest, and the smartest. Give up? It’s Bane. Yep, Bane. The guy you defeat by letting him run headfirst into walls. Other than his addiction to venom, he doesn't actually exhibit any symptoms of mental illness. But that's not all. What's truly shocking is that, according to the bane of the demon’s storyline, Bane has eidetic memory, better known as photographic memory. According to the series, he's an expert in various scientific disciplines, knows eight languages fluently, and figured out Batman's identity, in a year. In other words, a real pain in the neck. In short, Bane would be just as dangerous at Trivial Pursuit as he is in hand-to-hand combat, something that never really came across in the game’s portrayal of the guy, but don't scrape that brain matter off the walls just yet, because it's time, for my final thought. We've spent a lot of time analyzing Batman's bevy of supervillains, but what about the caped crusader himself? Swiss psychologist Carl Jung theorized that those with identity crises developed complexes. One of which, is the hero syndrome. A pathological need to help others, sound familiar? But those suffering from the complex tend to set up dangerous situations so that they can save people. Batman doesn't do that, right? Right? Think about it each time the Joker, Poison Ivy, Bane or any of these guys get caught, Batman throws them in Arkham, a minimum-security hospital, practically a revolving door for the criminals of Gotham, rather than a maximum-security prison where they belong. Each time they escape, more lives are put in danger, and they always escape. Which gives Batman the chance to be hero all over again. So this guardian of Gotham may have a little crazy in him, but hey, that's just a theory. A game theory. Thanks for watching. Trivia * An image was shown stating that the sentence "Dammit I'm mad" is a palindrome. * This is the first episode in which someone helped MatPat with research. Category:GT Videos Category:Game Theory Category:Batman: Arkham Category:DC Comics Category:Warner Bros. Category:2011 videos Category:June 2011 videos